Chemical immobilization in American black bears using a combination of nalbuphine, medetomidine, and azaperone

Chemical immobilization in American black bears using a combination of nalbuphine, medetomidine, and azaperone

Safe and effective but unscheduled drug combinations are needed for wildlife immobilization in some jurisdictions. To this end, we evaluated a combination of nalbuphine HCl (40 mg/mL), medetomidine HCl (10 mg/mL), and azaperone tartrate (10 mg/mL)—referred to as NalMed-A (or NAM)—in 28 American black bears (Ursus americanus), captured during June to August 2014 as part of an ongoing study conducted in and around Durango, Colorado, USA. We effectively immobilized all bears; induction (mean ¡ SE) was 16.2 ¡ 0.9 minutes (n 5 25) and reversal was 19 ¡ 1.6 minutes (n 5 24). Advantages of NalMed-A included low delivery volume, good sedation quality, and effective reversal. Moreover, NalMed-A does not contain compounds regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, making it a useful unscheduled immobilization combination. Based on these and subsequent field experiences, our dosing recommendations are 0.5–1 mL NalMed-A/45.5 kg estimated body mass (0.44–0.88 mg nalbuphine HCl/kg, 0.11–0.22 mg azaperone tartrate/kg, and 0.11–0.22 mg medetomidine HCl/kg), and 5 mg atipamezole HCl/mg medetomidine for antagonism.

Wolfe, L. L., H. E. Johnson, M. C. Fisher, W. R. Lance, D. K. Smith, and M. W. Miller. 2016. Chemical immobilization in American black bears using a combination of nalbuphine, medetomidine, and azaperone. Ursus 27:1–4. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS–D–15–00018.1

Wolfe, Lisa L.

Johnson, Heather E.

Fisher, Mark C.

Lance, William R.

Smith, David K.

Miller, Michael W.

Black bear

Atipamezole

Azaperone

Chemical immobilization

Medetomidine

Sedation

Tranquilizer

4 pages

Article

application/pdf

English

Ursus

12/18/2015

05/01/2016

06/15/2015